Tired of rent hikes? Good news is they've slowed way down in Houston.

Tired of rent hikes? Good news is they've slowed way down in Houston.

Rents are finally going down in Houston.
Photo by Jim Olive/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

The Houston rental market has been bonkers for a while, but there's new proof that it's finally starting to calm down. Online real estate investment management firm HomeUnion has identified the cities where rent growth has soared and sunk, and Houston ranks No. 6 among cities where rents have declined the most.

Houston rents have fallen 2.8 percent, hovering now around $1,600 a month. El Paso has seen even greater declines: a 7.1 percent decrease year-over-year.

Dallas, meanwhile, takes the No. 2 spot on the list of cities where rents have gone up the most. Its 5.6 percent increase is behind only Seattle, which went up a whopping 6.7 percent.

"Many of the metros at the top of our list have these two common characteristics: strong job growth, and residents who prefer renting over homeownership as median home prices remain relatively high and the cost of mortgage debt continues to increase," explains Steve Hovland, director of research at HomeUnion, in a release.

Austin and San Antonio also slip in the top 20 at 2.8 percent and 2.4 percent increases, respectively.